Listen free for 30 days
Mightier than the Sword: Clifton Chronicles, Book 5
People who bought this also bought...
-
Cometh the Hour
- The Clifton Chronicles, Book 6
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cometh the Hour opens with the reading of a suicide note, which has devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton, Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia. Giles must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin, the woman he loves, from behind the Iron Curtain. But is Karin truly in love with him, or is she a spy?
-
-
Highly entertaining old-fashioned story-telling
- By Kirstine on 21-03-16
-
Be Careful What You Wish For
- Clifton Chronicles, Book 4
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Be Careful What You Wish For opens with Harry Clifton and his wife, Emma, rushing to hospital to learn the fate of their son, Sebastian, who has been involved in a fatal car accident. But who died, Sebastian or his best friend Bruno?
When Ross Buchanan is forced to resign as chairman of the Barrington Shipping Company, Emma Clifton wants to replace him. But Don Pedro Martinez intends to install his puppet, the egregious Major Alex Fisher, in order to destroy the Barrington family firm just as the company plans to build its new luxury liner, the MV Buckingham.
-
-
First-class story-telling
- By Kirstine on 23-03-14
-
This Was a Man
- The Clifton Chronicles, Book 7
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives, and who dies? In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife, Karin, from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game? Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus while his wife, Emma, completes her 10 years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job.
-
-
Highly entertaining rollicking melodrama
- By Kirstine on 08-11-16
-
Best Kept Secret: Clifton Chronicles, Book 3
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1945. The vote in the House of Lords as to who should inherit the Barrington family fortune has ended in a tie. The Lord Chancellor’s deciding vote will cast a long shadow on the lives of Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington. Harry returns to America to promote his latest novel, while his beloved Emma goes in search of the little girl who was found abandoned in her father’s office on the night he was killed. When the General Election is called, Giles Barrington has to defend his seat
-
-
Good listen!!
- By josephine on 18-06-13
-
The Sins of the Father: Clifton Chronicles, Book 2
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Emilia Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The second book in Jeffrey Archer’s highly acclaimed The Clifton Chronicles, The Sins of the Father takes the reader on a breath-taking journey from the backstreets of Bristol to the boardrooms of Manhattan.The book opens in New York, 1939. Harry Clifton, under the new identity of Tom Bradshaw, finds himself arrested for first degree murder.
-
-
A worthy sequeal
- By Kirstine on 25-03-12
-
Only Time Will Tell
- Clifton Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Roger Allam, Emilia Fox
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Clifton Chronicles is Jeffrey Archer’s most ambitious work in four decades as an international best-selling author. The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the chilling words, ‘I was told that my father was killed in the war’. But it will be another twenty years before Harry discovers how his father really died, which will only lead him to question: who was his father?
-
-
Great story-telling
- By Kirstine on 16-06-11
-
Cometh the Hour
- The Clifton Chronicles, Book 6
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cometh the Hour opens with the reading of a suicide note, which has devastating consequences for Harry and Emma Clifton, Giles Barrington and Lady Virginia. Giles must decide if he should withdraw from politics and try to rescue Karin, the woman he loves, from behind the Iron Curtain. But is Karin truly in love with him, or is she a spy?
-
-
Highly entertaining old-fashioned story-telling
- By Kirstine on 21-03-16
-
Be Careful What You Wish For
- Clifton Chronicles, Book 4
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Be Careful What You Wish For opens with Harry Clifton and his wife, Emma, rushing to hospital to learn the fate of their son, Sebastian, who has been involved in a fatal car accident. But who died, Sebastian or his best friend Bruno?
When Ross Buchanan is forced to resign as chairman of the Barrington Shipping Company, Emma Clifton wants to replace him. But Don Pedro Martinez intends to install his puppet, the egregious Major Alex Fisher, in order to destroy the Barrington family firm just as the company plans to build its new luxury liner, the MV Buckingham.
-
-
First-class story-telling
- By Kirstine on 23-03-14
-
This Was a Man
- The Clifton Chronicles, Book 7
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives, and who dies? In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife, Karin, from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game? Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus while his wife, Emma, completes her 10 years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job.
-
-
Highly entertaining rollicking melodrama
- By Kirstine on 08-11-16
-
Best Kept Secret: Clifton Chronicles, Book 3
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1945. The vote in the House of Lords as to who should inherit the Barrington family fortune has ended in a tie. The Lord Chancellor’s deciding vote will cast a long shadow on the lives of Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington. Harry returns to America to promote his latest novel, while his beloved Emma goes in search of the little girl who was found abandoned in her father’s office on the night he was killed. When the General Election is called, Giles Barrington has to defend his seat
-
-
Good listen!!
- By josephine on 18-06-13
-
The Sins of the Father: Clifton Chronicles, Book 2
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Emilia Fox
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The second book in Jeffrey Archer’s highly acclaimed The Clifton Chronicles, The Sins of the Father takes the reader on a breath-taking journey from the backstreets of Bristol to the boardrooms of Manhattan.The book opens in New York, 1939. Harry Clifton, under the new identity of Tom Bradshaw, finds himself arrested for first degree murder.
-
-
A worthy sequeal
- By Kirstine on 25-03-12
-
Only Time Will Tell
- Clifton Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Roger Allam, Emilia Fox
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Clifton Chronicles is Jeffrey Archer’s most ambitious work in four decades as an international best-selling author. The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the chilling words, ‘I was told that my father was killed in the war’. But it will be another twenty years before Harry discovers how his father really died, which will only lead him to question: who was his father?
-
-
Great story-telling
- By Kirstine on 16-06-11
-
A Prisoner of Birth
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Roger Allam
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Danny Cartwright and Spencer Craig were born on different sides of the track. Danny is an East End Cockney mechanic, Spencer is a West End barrister. When they meet, their lives will never be the same again.
-
-
A Prisoner of Birth (Unabridged
- By Jean on 15-04-08
-
The Prodigal Daughter
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hers was the ultimate ambition...The magnificant story of love and politics that continues the saga of Kane and Abel. The titanic battle between two men obsessed with destroying each other follows on into the next generation. Florentyna Rosnovski, Abel's daughter, inherits all her father's drive, but none of his wealth. A woman gifted with beauty and spirit, but above all with indomitable will, she sets out in pursuit of an ambition that dwarfs both Kane and Abel, as she battles for the highest office of all...
-
-
Sounds like Siri is reading it, good story though
- By Richard Bellars on 18-01-16
-
False Impression
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When an aristocratic old lady is brutally murdered in her country home the night before 9/11, it takes all the resources of the FBI and Interpol to work out the connection between her and the possible motive for her death - a priceless Van Gogh painting. It's a young woman in the North Tower when the first plane crashed into the building who has the courage and determination to take on both sides of the law and avenge the old lady's death.
-
-
What a joy!
- By Leycesteria, Surrey on 08-01-15
-
As the Crow Flies
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charlie Trumper's earliest memory is of hearing his grandfather's sales patter from behind his costermonger's barrow. When Grandpa Charlie dies, young Charlie wants nothing more than to follow in his footsteps - his burning ambition is to own a shop that will sell everything: 'The Biggest Barrow in the World'. Charlie's progress from the teeming streets of Whitechapel to the elegance of Chelsea Terrace is only a few miles as the crow flies.
-
-
classic archer
- By stephen iles on 20-04-16
-
A Matter of Honour
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adam Scott listens to the reading of his father's will, aware that the contents can only be meagre. The Colonel, after all, had nothing to leave - except a letter he had never opened himself, a letter that can only bring further disgrace to the family name. Against his mother's advice, Adam opens the letter, and immediately realizes his life can never be the same again. The contents leave him with no choice but to follow a course his father would have described as a matter of honour.
-
-
Matter of honour
- By Julie on 24-06-16
-
Paths of Glory
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Roger Allam
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of a man who loved two women, and one of them killed him. Some people have dreams that are so outrageous that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Percy Fawcett, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hillary and Neil Armstrong are among such individuals. But what if one man had such a dream, and when he'd achieved it, there was no proof that he had fulfilled his ambition?
-
-
fantastic stuff
- By Brand on 13-03-09
-
Shall We Tell the President
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
6 days, 13 hours and 37 minutes to go . . .At the end of The Prodigal Daughter, Florentyna Kane is elected President - the first woman President of the United States. At 7.30 one evening the FBI learn of a plot to kill her - the 1572nd such threat of the year. At 8.30 five people know all the details. By 9.30 four of them are dead.FBI agent Mark Andrews alone knows when. He also knows that a senator is involved. He has six days to learn where - and how. Six days to prevent certain death of the President.
-
-
Good but not his best
- By s on 05-10-13
-
Kane and Abel
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 19 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kane & Abel for a new generation!!
They had only one thing in common - William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless Polish immigrant. Two men born on the same day on opposite sides of the world, their paths were destined to cross in the ruthless struggle to build a fortune.
The marvellous story, spanning 60 years, of two powerful men linked by an all-consuming hatred, brought together by fate to save - and finally destroy - each other.
-
-
Superb listen
- By josephine on 05-06-13
-
Nothing Ventured
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: George Blagden
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective and decides, much to his father’s dismay, that rather than become a barrister like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London’s Metropolitan Police Force. After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard’s arts and antiquities squad.
-
-
Cracking start to the new series
- By Kirstine on 10-09-19
-
First Among Equals
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1960s, four ambitious new MPs take their seats at Westminster. Over three decades they share the turbulent passions and upheavals of the race for power with their wives and families, men and women caught up in a dramatic game for the highest stakes of all. But only one man can gain the ultimate goal - the office of Prime Minister.
-
-
A darned good yarn.....
- By Mr STEVEN PEARSON on 07-02-17
-
Heads You Win
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Heads You Win is the incredible and thrilling novel by the master storyteller and best-selling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, Jeffrey Archer. Leningrad, Russia, 1968. Alexander Karpenko is no ordinary child, and from an early age, it is clear he is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, he and his mother will have to escape from Russia if they hope to survive.
-
-
Ridiculous story beautifully read
- By Mrs. K. Sowden on 30-11-18
-
Sons of Fortune
- By: Jeffrey Archer
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is Greenwich, Connecticut, in the early 1950s, and a set of twins is separated at birth by a desperate nurse. Nat Davenport goes home with his parents, a schoolteacher and an insurance salesman. But his twin brother is to begin his days as Fletcher Cartwright, the son of a wealthy CEO and his wife.
-
-
Good Read
- By Lusiwasi on 19-09-15
Summary
The fifth novel in the epic Clifton Chronicles series.
When the bomb goes off, how many passengers on the Buckingham lose their lives? You will only find out if you read the opening chapter of Mightier than the Sword.
When Harry visits his publisher in New York, he's told that he's been elected the new president of English PEN and immediately launches a campaign for the release of a fellow author, Anatoly Babakov, who's imprisoned in a Russian gulag in Siberia. Babakov's crime? Writing a book called Uncle Joe, an insight into what it was like to work as the interpreter for Josef Stalin. So determined is Harry to see Babakov released and the book published, he puts his own life in danger.
Emma Clifton, now the chairwoman of Barrington Shipping, is facing the repercussions of the IRA attack on the Buckingham. Some board members feel she should resign, but Sebastian Clifton, newly elected to the board, is determined that she'll remain chairwoman. Sir Giles Barrington is now a minister of the crown and looks set for even higher office until an official trip to Berlin does not end as a diplomatic success. Once again Giles' political career is thrown off balance by none other than his old adversary, Major Alex Fisher, who, for the second time, is selected to stand against him at the general election. But who wins this time? Sebastian asks his American girlfriend to marry him, and she happily accepts only to break off the engagement when she discovers what Seb has been up to behind her back.
Mightier than the Sword ends with two courtroom trials. One is a libel case held at the High Court in London, a fierce battle between Emma Clifton and Lady Virginia Fenwick, and no one can believe how far Virginia will go to make sure she wins. The second, a show trial, takes place in Russia after Harry is arrested as a spy. Thus continues volume five of the Clifton Chronicles.
This is Jeffrey Archer's most accomplished work to date, with all the trademark twists and turns that have made him one of the most popular authors in the world.
What members say
Average customer ratings
Overall
-
-
5 Stars933
-
4 Stars286
-
3 Stars57
-
2 Stars11
-
1 Stars9
Performance
-
-
5 Stars939
-
4 Stars199
-
3 Stars33
-
2 Stars4
-
1 Stars4
Story
-
-
5 Stars818
-
4 Stars271
-
3 Stars63
-
2 Stars10
-
1 Stars9
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- mollyeyre
- 02-03-15
Still no ending?
If my memory serves me correctly this was originally a trilogy, then it became a chronicle, with 5 parts. BUT this book has again been left on a cliff hanger that points to another one in the series, I find this really annoying and doubt that I will bother with the next one as I feel I am being taken for a ride.
However, I did enjoy the book, apart from the overstated hatred and revenge shown by some of the characters, which I find quite unreal. The story was tense and interesting, BUT....... the ending has made me so cross and I am unwilling to wait a year to be left on yet another hook.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andy T
- 27-10-15
A good yarn
Like so much of Jeffery Archer's writing, this was a compelling story - just don't expect high literature. I'm hooked, so he has achieved his aim!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jill
- GRAVESEND, United Kingdom
- 09-12-15
Fantastic book. Full of depth and intrigue
What an amazing series of books I thought this was the final but have been left with another cliffhanger. Very clever Mr Archer
When is the next one due?
Beautifully written and narrated
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rebecca Young
- Cheshire England
- 10-10-15
Pure brilliance
It seems J Archer is turning me into a mature student in History.... His storytelling makes you want to learn more about certain subjects... Wel it does me anyway!
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- C.hris W
- 24-11-15
When is the follow up due?
Don't know how long I can wait for the next one in the Clifton chronicles. So many more loose ends to make another superb book
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Harrycat
- 21-07-15
Still interesting
If you could sum up Mightier than the Sword: Clifton Chronicles, Book 5 in three words, what would they be?
Forced cliffhanger
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Concentrate on Sebastian a little more.
Have you listened to any of Alex Jennings’s other performances? How does this one compare?
All are excellent
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No
Any additional comments?
A good read but the earlier Clifton Chronicles were an excellent read.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mrs. S. Harris
- Manchester, UK
- 23-04-15
The ending was a disappointment
Very enjoyable and held my attention I thought that naming Seb's daughter was very clever. I was a little disappointed with the ending.
Alex Jennings was excellent as the narrator
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kirstine
- Midlothian
- 11-03-15
Ends on yet another cliffhanger!
You’ll enjoy this book more if you’ve followed the whole series and are familiar with the characters of the Barrington family and their adversaries. The last book ended just before a bomb was due to go off and this one similarly ends on a cliffhanger that left me feeling shortchanged. We’ve got to the 1970s so it looks like several more books are in the pipeline.
The writing is in the author’s characteristic, rather old-fashioned style reminiscent of John Buchan with good pitted against evil and, despite set-backs, the former prevails. It’s a world that is deferential to titles and where most businessmen, bankers and politicians are honourable men and the bad ones get their comeuppance: gosh those were the days, if they ever existed! I can’t vouch for the authenticity of the numerous contemporary references to exclusive shops, theatre performances, football matches and flight numbers on BOAC planes, but I think they adds to colour to the narrative.
It’s not great literature but it did keep me hooked with so many of the characters being in jeopardy: libel and criminal trials; business skulduggery, revenge and lost loves. I wasn’t convinced by Harry's stupendous feats of memory or the procedures in the libel trial, but it’s fiction not fact.
Alex Jennings has long been one of my favourite actors and he is also an outstanding narrator with a range of voices to make a book more a play than an audiobook.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- s
- LONDON, United Kingdom
- 10-04-15
As always value for money
I'm never disappointed with Jefrey Archer. Even when he spins and drags out a story still enjoyable.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 18-09-19
Gripping
Can't wait for the next book in the series. So gripping and beautifully read. I would defy recommend the series.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mark
- 19-03-15
Fabulous reads
It is fabulous when you find a great story teller. I find new authors to read and that I like a task. I have nearly read all of Jeffrey Archers books and would recommend them to anybody.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Charmaine P
- 24-04-17
The saga continues....
Enjoyable. Shocking to realize how conniving and deceitful some human beings can be and still live to tell the tale.... but then, others not...
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ibrahim
- 08-11-16
Good continuation to the clifton
The story continues to grab interest with new twists. This book is better than third & fourth but the first two were the best.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Tracey
- 22-08-15
cliftons
What made the experience of listening to Mightier than the Sword: Clifton Chronicles, Book 5 the most enjoyable?
the family saga .the shipping line. the bank. the grudge .plots
Who was your favorite character and why?
cedric hardcastle
What does Alex Jennings bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
leaves you hanging at the end for next book to continue
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
yes
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- John
- 02-04-15
Gripping but
Gripping tale again but the end leaves you in nowhere land. Is there a part 2 to this book